Railway supporting box beam building construction



Marcia '4, 1969 w. F. APPELT ET AL 3,430,592

RAILWAY SUPPORTING BOX BEAM BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 11, 1967Sheet 2 of s INVE R3 WELDONF. WlLLlAM H. 0N

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ATTORNEY- March 4, 1969 w. F. APPELT ET AL 3,430,582

RAILWAY SUPPORTING BOX BEAM BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 11, 1967Sheet 3 or a FIG. 6 FIG. 7

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RAILWAY SUPPORTING BOX BEAM BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 11, 1967Sheet 4 of's.

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WELDON F APPELT HG. H g WILLIAM H MASON mvEmoRs March 4, 1969 w, APPELTET Al. 3,430,582

RAILWAY SUPPORTING BOX BEAM BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 11, 1967Sheet 5 of 5 HG. l2 FIG. I?)

INVENTORS. WELDON E APPELT WILLIAM H. MASON United States Patent 0 8Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A building construction having acraneway wherein the support columns and the craneway beams are all ofthe hollow box beam type construction.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the prior art construction of industrialbuildings of the type having craneways therein it was usually necessaryto place the vertical column supports for the craneway inside thevertical column supports for the building per se. Thus in elfect. it wasnecessary to place a building structure within a building structure,thereby substantially reducing the amount of floor space available foruseful operational purposes. In some buildings of this type bracketswere mounted on the vertical support columns for the building per se forsupporting a craneway beam or girder, but in these instances thecapacity of the particular crane which could operate on such a crane-waywas extremely limited, since a cantilever type bracket extendingoutwardly from the side of a building support column could support onlya very small load. Even in those structures which utilized the buildingwithin a building type construction for the craneway, the load capacityof the crane was severely restricted due to the fact that conventional Ibeam type columns and girders were employed. The use of the conventionalI beam not only limited the capacity of the crane, but also increasedthe cost of the erection and the cost of maintenance due to the complexassembly operations and the extensive painting which was necessary topreserve such a structure from corrosion.

In accordance with the principles of the present invention a hollow boxbeam type construction is utilized for the support columns as well asfor the craneway girders which extend across the tops of the supportcolumns. The support columns of the present invention serve the doublepurpose of being support columns for the crane as Well as supportcolumns for the building structure per se. Since the craneway girdersrest on the top of the support columns and the crane in turn travels onthe upper surface of the craneway girders the entire weight of the craneand its load is supported directly over the support columns enabling amuch higher capacity, such as on the order of 250 to 400 tons.

The box construction of the support columns and the craneway girderssubstantially reduces the assembly time of a building since most of theparts may be prefabricated at a suitable plant and may then be shippedto the building site and erected within a minimum of time and labor. Theuse of the box type construction also enables a more equitable loaddistribution enabling the support columns to be spaced considerablyfurther apart than in a conventional craneway structure. This greaterspacing of the support columns as well as the external appearance of thebox type construction not only provides a craneway structure having amuch greater capacity, but also provides a structure which isaesthetically pleasing.

The box type columns and the box type craneway girders of the presentinvention are completely hermetically sealed thereby substantiallyreducing the surface area 3,430,582 Patented Mar. 4, 1969 which must bepainted, thereby substantially reducing the cost of erection andmaintenance.

The box beam type building construction of the present invention isreadily adaptable for expansion so that a building may be extended fromone bay to a plurality of bays with a minimum amount of effort andexpense. The box type construction for the support columns is providedwith a double taper which is more readily adaptable to absorb thelateral stresses and strains which commonly occur in a building of thistype, not only from the inertia generated by the movement of the craneand its load, but also caused by external forces such as high winds andthe like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a buildingconstruction of the type having at least one elongated bay adapted tohave a traveling crane movably mounted thereon for movement along thelength of said bay comprising a plurality of spaced, hollow, box typevertical support columns disposed in a first line along one side of saidlongitudinal bay, a plurality of spaced, hollow, box type verticalsupport columns disposed in a second line parallel to said first linealong the opposite side of said bay wherein said columns in said secondline taper from a wide base portion to a narrow upper portion as viewedalong the length of said bay and taper from a narrow base portion to awide upper portion as viewed along a line transversely of said bay and aplurality of hollow box beam girders extending the length of said baysupported on the top of each line of vertical support columns to providea pair of parallel support surfaces for a traveling crane beam and theroof bents of said building.

Other features of the invention will be pointed out in the followingdescription and claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings,which disclose, by way of example, the principles of the invention andthe best mode which has been contemplated of applying those principles.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a partial perspective view of a double bay buildingaccording to the present construction with the roof bents shown inphantom lines,

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view in section of the footings for eachof the columns of the center row of columns along line 2-2 of FIG. 1,

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view in section of the footings for anoutside column along line 3-3 of FIG. 1,

FIGURE 4 is a partial side elevational view of the side wall framing asapplied to the vertical exterior support columns,

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view along the line 55 of FIGURE 4,

FIGURE 6 is a partial side elevational view of a double taper supportcolumn and the craneway girder supported thereby with the interiorreinforcing structure shown in phantom lines along line 66 of FIG. 1,

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view taken along the line 77 of FIGURE 6,

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view taken along the line 8-8 of FIGURE 6,

FIGURE 9 is a partial side elevational view of an outside support columnand craneway beams supported thereby with the internal reinforcingstructure thereof shown in phantom lines along line 99 of FIG. 1,

FIGURE 10 is a sectional view along the line 1010 of FIGURE 9,

FIGURE 11 is a sectional view along the line 11-11 of FIGURE 9,

FIGURE 12 is a partial side elevational view of a double taper supportcolumn having a craneway girder supported on the top thereof and asecond craneway girder supported on the side of said column, and

FIGURE 13 is a sectional view taken the line 1313 in FIGURE 12.

Turning now to the drawings, FIGURE 1 shows an industrial type buildingof the type having three parallel rows of vertical support columns whichdefine therebetween a pair of working bays. An overhead traveling cranemay operate on the length of each of said bays to aid in transportingsupplies to the assembly site and to assist in transporting the finishedproduct from the building. Two parallel rows of outside support columnsand a single row of center support columns 22 parallel to the outer rowsof support columns are provided to support the superstructure of thebuilding and to provide support for the overhead traveling cranes (notshown). The outside support columns 20 are provided with only a singletaper, that is the surfaces 24 of the vertical outside columns 20 whichextend in the direction of the line of columns are provided with a taperwhich is symmetrical about the center line of the column and whichincreases from the base of the column to the upper portion of thecolumn. The side of the column 20 opposite the tapered side 24 isdisposed parallel to the side 24 thus the width of the side 26 isconstant along the entire height of the column. The columns 20 carry acraneway girder 21 on the upper ends thereof.

The center row support columns 22 are each provided with a double taperconstruction to give the center craneway girder, which acts as a commonsupport for the cranes operated in both bays of the building, thenecessary longitudinal and lateral stability. The surface 28 of a centercolumn 22 lies in a plane which extends substantially transversely ofthe building and tapers from a wide portion at the base to a narrowportion at the top of the support column to give the column greaterlateral stability. The surface 30 of the column 22, which lies in aplane which extends substantially the length of the building, tapersupwardly and outwardly from a narrow base portion to a wide upperportion underlying the craneway girder 23. The greater width of the side30 immediately under the craneway girder helps to distribute the weightof the craneway girder and the cranes traveling thereon more effectivelyto the longitudinally spaced columns. The greater width of the side 30adjacent the top also aids in distributing the weight of the roof bents31 and the roofing material secured thereon. In prior art constructionsit was always necessary to provide a support column for each roof bentso that the weight of each roof bent would be supported directly over acolumn. However, with the present construction, it is only necessary toprovide a support column for every other roof bent. The top of eachcolumn 22 may be provided with haunches 32 to aid in the distribution ofthe weight of the craneway girder and everything supported by it.Similar haunches 34 may be provided on the outer support columns 20 forthe same reason.

As mentioned previously one of the key features of this type of buildingconstruction is the flexibility as to the number of bays which may bebuilt originally or which may be added on in the future. FIGURE 1 showsa building having two bays, but it is entirely possible to construct thebuilding with only a single bay with the provision for adding the secondbay at a future date. In construc tion of a building with a single baywith plans for expansion to two bays it would only be necessary to erectone row of columns similar to the columns 20 and a second row of columnssimilar to the columns 22 as shown in FIGURE 1. Then when it is desiredto expand the building to include a second bay it will only be necessaryto erect a third row of columns having the single taper constructionsimilar to the columns 20 shown in FIGURE 1. If it was desired toultimately extend the building to three bays, the original two rows ofcolumns could be constructed with each of the columns having a doubletaper such as the column 22 in FIGURE 1. Then upon expansion to a threebay construction it would only be necessary to add to outside rows ofsupport columns similar to the columns 20.

When constructing a single bay building which is suitable for expansionor which could always be used as a single bay building, it is onlynecessary to construct one of the rows of columns with the double taperconstruction and the other row of columns can be the relatively lighterand less expensive single taper columns. FIGURE 2 shows the footingconstruction for a double taper column 22 as viewed along the line 22 ofFIGURE 1. The column 22 rests on and is directly welded to a steel baseplate 36 which is embedded in a concrete slab 38. The slab 38 issupported by two piers 40 and 42 which are provided with enlarged baseportions 44 to provide additional vertical support. The outside column20, as shown in FIGURE 3, may be supported and welded to a steel platewhich is embedded in the upper surface of a concrete pier 48 having awidened base portion 50.

Whether the building is a double bay building as shown in FIGURE 1 or asingle bay building there will always be a row of relatively heavydouble taper columns for supporting the vertical loading and the lateralloading imposed on the building by wind loads as well as kinetic energyand impulse loads caused by movement the crane or any load carriedthereby. The relatively lighter single taper columns are utilized as theoutside row of columns and serve basically to take the vertical loadfrom the crane and the building weights. By spreading the footing forthe heavy double taper column as shown in FIGURE 2 and by having thecrane run on top of the craneway beams and towers, any attempt tooverturn the tower and crane combination is resisted partially by thedead weight load which acts down through the centerline of the tower andthe foundation. The dead weight load is the summation of the tower load,the concrete load, and the middle of the building load. Whatever craneload is imposed upon that total dead weight load gives an added momentof resistance that is advantageous and this moment can be subtractedfrom the total moment which would normally be required if the footingswere relied upon solely for stabilizing the tower or column. The row oflighter columns, which are only provided with a taper in the directionof the length of the building, receive their lateral stability throughthe interconnected roof bents and the crane bridge.

FIGURE 4 shows a side view of the building with the sideway framingsecured thereon. A plurality of double girt panels 52 are arranged inparallel spaced apart relation on the side of the building. The panels52 may be secured to the support columns 20 by means of welding or anyother suitable means. The double girt panels 52 may also be applied tothe sides of the roof bents 31 which are supported on the upper surfaceof the craneway girder 21. A lightweight, side, intermediate column 54may be disposed intermediate each pair of side columns 20 and may besecured to each of the double girt panels '52 by means of welding or thelike. The purpose of the side intermediate columns 54 is solely toprovide an added degree of stability to the double girt panels and thecolumns 54 do not carry any of the weight of the craneway girder 21.Each of the double girt panels 52 is comprised of parallel opposed upperand lower U-shaped channels 56 and 58 respectively. A plurality of angleirons 60 are welded within the channels 56 and 58 in a zig zag fashion.The siding of the building such as corrugated iron, plastic or any othersuitable material may then be secured to the outer surfaces of thedouble girt panels 52.

FIGURE 6 is a partial side elevational view of a double taper supportcolumn 22 and the craneway girder 23 supported thereby. Each of thesupporting columns 22 is provided with a plurality of internalreinforcing webs 62 shown in phantom lines in FIGURE 6. Each of thesewebs is spaced apart an equal distance and the webs 62 are parallel toeach other. FIGURE 8 is a sectional view through the column at FIGURE 6showing the detailed construction of a web member 62. The web 62 iscomprised of four angle irons welded to the interior surface of thecolumn and to each other to form a rectangular structure. A diagonalbracing member, also comprised of an angle iron, is welded within thecolumn to the angle irons 64. The exact configuration of the internalweb member 62 may take various other forms and the form shown at FIGURE8 is merely one possible example.

The sides of the columns 22 are formed from steel plates 28 and 30 whichare welded completely along their edges. The side plates 28 and 30 arealso welded to the base plate 36 and to the underside of the box beamforming the craneway girder 2.3. 'In this manner the entire interior ofeach column 22 is hermetically sealed thereby eliminating the need forcovering the internal surfaces of the column with a protective layer ofpaint. The haunches 32 are formed from triangular side plates 68 and arectangular face plate 70 which are welded to each other and to thesides of the column 22 and the bottom of the craneway girder 23. Thiswelding also provides a hermetically sealed enclosure therebyeliminating the need for painting the internal surfaces of the haunches.

The craneway girder 23 is also constructed as a hollow box likestructure with the side plates, top plates and bottom plates beingwelded together along their edges to define a hermtically sealedenclosure. A plurality of reinforcing webs 72 are disposed in parallelspaced relationship within the box beam or craneway girder 23. Theconfiguration of the webbing 72 may be of any desirable configurationand one example of the configuration is shown in FIGURE 7. As viewed inFIGURE 7 it will be noted that the bottom surface of the craneway girder23 is narrower than the upper surface of the girder. This constructionenables the use of a wider upper surface to accommodate two trackmembers 74 without requiring a column having a wider upper portion.

FIGURES 9 through 11 inclusive show various constructional details ofthe outside support columns 20 similar to the details shown in FIGURES 6through 8 inclusive with respect to the center double taper supportcolumns 22. The outside columns 20 are also formed by steel plateswelded together to define a hollow hermetically sealed box likestructure. The craneway girder 21 which extends across the top of theoutside support column 20 is usually only required to carry a singletrack 76 and provide a footing for the roof bents 3-1. Therefore thedimensions of the craneway girder 21 may be relatively smaller than thedimensions of the craneway girder 23 which is required to carry twotracks. Therefore the internal webbing 78 within the craneway girder 21may be of a more simple configuration as shown in FIGURE 10. Likewisesince the support column 20 is not required to carry the large lateralloads as required of the central columns 22 the webbing 80 within thevertical support columns 20 may also be of a more simple configurationas shown in FIGURE 11.

FIGURES 12 and 13 show a modification of the craneway girder and supportcolumn therefore. In this modification the support column 82 is providedwith a double taper which is slightly different than the double taperfound on the support column 22 inasmuch as the side 84 of the column asshown in FIGURE 13 is vertically disposed whereas the side 86 theretotapers from a wide base toward the vertical side '84 at the top of thecolumn. Also the haunches 88 disposed at the intersection of the column82 and the craneway girder 90 are comprised of only a single triangularplate. Disposed within the column and aligned with the haunches 88 is areinforcing w'eb member 92 shown in dotted lines in FIGURE 13. Thisreinforcing web member 92 extends from the first transverse reinforcingweb 94 within the column 82 to the underside of the crane girder '90 andfrom side to side. The craneway girder 90 in this modification may be ofa completely rectangular configuration and the internal webbing 96 maybe constructed as shown from welded angle irons. Also in thismodification an additional crane- Way girder 98 may be secured to theside of the support columns intermediate the ends thereof for carrying acrane having a relatively low Weight capacity. The craneway girder 98may be provided with reinforcing webbings 100 which may have aconfiguration as shown in FIGURE 13 and if necessary the girder 98 maybe supported by additional haunches 102 shown in dotted lines. Due tothe tapered configuration of the column it is possible to place an"additional craneway girder such as girder 98 on the side of the columnwithout effecting the lateral stability of the column. The center ofgravity of the craneway girder 98 is disposed within the area of thebase of the column thereby the added weight of the craneway girder andthe crane load carried thereby imposes a virtually downward forcehelping to stabilize the column rather than unbalance the column.

Another feature of the present invention resides in the ease ofassembling the hollow box like columns and girders by utilizing theinterior web like reinforcing members as templets to assist in locatingthe steel plates in the proper position for welding to each other. Forexample in assembling the craneway girder 21 as shown in FIGURES 9 and10 the relatively wide upper plate member 104 would be laid on a fiatsupport surface. The web members 78 would be preassembled in the desiredform in a suitable jig which would dispose the various members at theproper angles relative to each other. Each individual reinforcing web 78would then be placed upon the upper surface of the member 104 with theproper spacing between the webs 7'8 and each web should then be weldedto the plate 104. The side plate members 106 would then be positionedagainst the upwardly converging surfaces of the Web member 78 andsuitable welds would be made joining the side plates 106 to the webmembers 78 and to the top plate member 104. The bottom plate member 108would then be laid on top of the series of reinforcing webs 78 andwelded thereto and to the side plates 106.

The same mode of construction would be used in assembling the columnsthereby enabling the fabrication of the various structural elements ofthe building in a rapid and economical manner. All of the components maybe easily assembled on the ground either at building site or at a remotefabrication plant. It then involves a simple matter of raising thepreformed columns into the proper position by means of a crane andwelding them to the base plates which are embedded in the footings. Thepreformed craneway girders may then be lifted into place either insections or as a complete unit and welded to the top of the columns. Insome circumstances it would only be necessary to erect the columns andcraneway lgirders if it was not necessary to have an enclosed structure,such as for use in ship building operations. However if a closedbuilding is desirable it is only necessary to secure the siding of thecolumns by means of welding and place the roof bents and roofingmaterial across the top of the bay as defined by the rows of columns.The finished building provides a structure not only capable of providingsupport for substantially increased crane loads but also provides anattractive aesthetically pleasing building having an increase in usablefloor space over prior constructions. 'Due to the smooth tapered shapeof the columns and girders the finished building frame work suggests amodern appearance heretofore achieved only by the use of poured concretestructures.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention arepossible in the light of the above teachings.

What is claimed is:

1. In a structure of the type having at least one elongated working bayadapted to have a traveling overhead crane movably mounted for movementalong the length of said bay comprising:

(a) a plurality of spaced hollow box type vertical support columnsdisposed in a first line along one side of said longitudinal bay,

(b) a plurality of spaced hollow box type vertical support columnsdisposed in a second line parallel to said first line along the oppositeside of said bay wherein said columns in said second line taper from awide base portion to a narrow upper portion as viewed along the lengthof said bay and taper from the narrow base portion to a wide upperportion as viewed along the line transversely of said bay,

(c) a plurality of hollow box beam girders having a trapezoidal crosssection with the narrower of the two parallel sides being disposeddownwardly extending the length of said bay supported on and secured tothe top of each line of vertical support columns to provide a pair ofparallel support surfaces, and

(d) rail means mounted on said support surfaces parallel to the edgesthereof for supporting and guiding a traveling crane beam.

2. In a building construction as set forth in claim 1 wherein each ofsaid columns is comprised of steel plates welded together and aplurality of spaced parallel reinforcing webs disposed transverse to thelength of said column and welded therein.

3. In a building constructed as set forth in claim 2 further comprisingreinforced concrete footings having a steel plate secured to the uppersurface thereof each of said hollow columns being 'welded on all sidesto said base plate and being welded on all sides to the underside ofsaid box beam girders to hermetically seal the interior of the hollowcolumns.

4. A building construction as set forth in claim 1 wherein each of saidhollow box beam girders is comprised of steel plates Welded together anda plurality of reinforcing web members extending transversely to thelength of said girders, parallel to each other and welded therein.

5. In a building construction as set forth in claim 4 wherein saidgirders are provided with end plates welded thereto to hermeticallyenclose the interior of said girders.

6. In a building construction as set forth in claim 1 wherein thecolumns in said first line taper from a narrow base portion to a wideupper portion as viewed along the line transversely of said bay.

7. In a building construction as set forth in claim 1 further comprisingadditional craneway girder means secured to the columns in said lines onthe sides thereof facing toward each other at a point intermediate thetop and bottom of said column; the center of gravity of said additionalcraneway girder means being disposed along the line falling within thearea of the base of the columns.

8. In a building construction as set forth in claim 1 further comprisinga plurality of spaced hollow box type vertical support columns disposedalong a third line parallel to and spaced from said second line ofcolumns on the opposite side of said line of second columns from saidfirst line of columns to define a second bay, a hollow box beam girderextending along the length of said second bay supported on the tops ofeach of the columns disposed along said third line, and single trackmeans for a traveling crane disposed on the top of the craneway girdersalong said first and third lines and a pair of track means for atraveling crane disposed on the upper surface of the girder along saidsecond line.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,958,889 5/1934 Fish 52333,189,198 6/1965 Fila=k 5229 FOREIGN PATENTS 649,653 12/1962 Italy.

HENRY C. SUTHERLAND, Primary Examiner,

S. D. BURKE, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 52-40, 731, 90

